Welcome
Movements allow us to independently interact with our environments. Skilled movements are required for behaviors of every-day life, active mobility or communication. However, beyond its instrumental nature, motor behavior is much more than that.
For example, the biological consequences of repeated motor behavior, i.e. during regular physical exercise or motor learning, can have a great impact on the brain and its cognitive functions – substantiating its relevance for healthy cognitive ageing or the prevention and rehabilitation of neurological diseases.
Our group develops new motor training strategies to harness and optimize their positive effects on cognitive and motor performance. Our research approach is based on a thorough understanding of the interplay between motor behavior and the brain’s remarkable adaptive capacities.
What we do
Training-induced Brain Plasticity
We are interested in the brains’ capacity to modulate its structure and function in response to motor skill learning or physical exercise. Our working hypothesis is that properly activating the brains’ reactive capacities will improve cognitive faculties (transfer).
Cognitive Abilities and Behavior
This new research topic investigates how individual cognitive faculties impact motor behavior in real-world situations with a high degree of uncertainty (e.g. game sports). Our working hypothesis is that individual cognitive faculties can be enhanced through specific training strategies and that these individual improvements will impact collective decision-making in groups or teams.
What is new
New paper published in The Journal of Neuroscience
Martin presented first behavioral results of our CRC-Project C01
Research Sabbatical at MPI for Evolutionary Anthropology
What we publish
Here you can find the lab’s latest research papers published in peer-review journals.
What we teach
Our lab members give theoretical and practical courses to undergraduate and graduate students at Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg. Courses involve theoretical foundations of Training Science and applied sports. We contribute to study programs of Sport Science, Sport and Technology and Physical Education.